The More Things Change
by secretkp831
Summary: Rachel Berry has been a household name ever since she left Lima behind. She has fame,fortune and a great job.Too bad the moment she steps back in Lima she feels like the loser she had long left behind. At least one person is happy to see her again.
1. Lonely at the Top

**The More Things Change**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of its Characters. RIB does.**

Rachel Berry knew she would be a star. From the time she won her first competition she knew nothing in the world would stop her from being a star. Sure she came out of high school with little friends and not much of a social life. It wasn't her fault no one cared how talented she was. At the end she had the last laugh. She got out of Lima, when no one else could. And at the end of the day it was all worth it. Every slushy facial, every shove in the hallway, every bad name she was called lead up to this. Ten years since she stepped out of Lima and became a household name. She succeeded her expectations of being a Broadway star. Rachel had never imagined she would be an A-List actresses starring in box office hits. Working beside some of the most prestigious actor and actresses the world had to offer. Everyday felt like a fantasy and it wasn't until she slipped inside of her Californian mansion and saw all the awards she managed to win throughout the years, did she allow herself to realize everything was real. That she Rachel Barbra Berry had done what everyone in that cow town Lima told her she couldn't do. She became something.

There was a down side to leaving Lima, and refusing to step back in it. She had lost Kurt and Blaine as friends, and Finn as a boyfriend. To say Rachel was disappointed at Kurt for staying behind with Blaine was an understatement. She couldn't believe he gave up the dreams both of them shred for love. Of course Blaine wasn't the only reason he stayed. The cost of living in New York was more than he could afford, but still there were ways to make it happen. She had even invited him to stay with her in the spacious apartment her fathers had bought her. It was then that Kurt admitted that maybe New York wasn't for him. That if he couldn't afford to live there and if Blaine wasn't there maybe it was a sign, a sign that he didn't belong. Hurt and betrayed she tried getting Finn to talk some sense into him, but that came out even worse. Finn agreed with Kurt's decision and made it clear that he wouldn't be following her.

"_New York isn't for me Rach," he told her. " Lima is."_

Although it shouldn't have surprised her she was still hurt that he didn't even try. That she wasn't worth following. From there the relationship deteriorated and she found herself planning on going to New York alone. For the first few months she was unbelievably lonely and felt like giving up. Still she pulled through and studied hard at NYADA. By the time she graduated she had an agent, and had a small part on a Broadway play. From there she earned a lead in the revival of West Side Story, before moving on to Funny Girl and Wicked. When her agent first suggested movies Rachel could swear she was joking. Think about she told her.

" _You've done all you can do on Broadway. You have two Tony awards and you've had three leads. It could be good for you". _

Rachel was skeptical but agreed. Working on movies she had to admit was a bit easier than starring in plays. Rehearsals weren't as demanding, and filming only took a few months. What she didn't expect were the hundreds of interviews and tours she had to go through. Her first two movies had done less than well and she was ready to call it quits, but her Agent made her promise to give it one more try. One romantic comedy and a few well placed advertisements made Rachel a star. Suddenly her world was full of paparazzi and interviews.

It was weird for a while. She wasn't use to having people watch her every move. She had to be very careful and make sure she didn't do anything to hurt her image. One wrong move could end her career. Still all the fame in the world didn't make up for the fact that she had no friends and no love life. Sure she had people she could casually hang out with, and a few times she went out with co stars, but that was it. Any date she went on ended up less than promising and never worked out. She began to wonder if she would end up one of those people married to their career. The thought didn't seem so bad, but at times she couldn't deny the fact that she was lonely.

The only people she still talked to in Lima were her fathers and an occasional message to Kurt. She tried to keep up with the others at first but her efforts were not well received. She got no invitation to Mike's and Tina's wedding. She wasn't there to see Brittany and Santana adopt their son, and wasn't there to see Mercedes and Kurt open up their own fashion shop. No one wanted her there, and to tell the truth she didn't want to be there either. She had promised herself she wouldn't step back into that town no matter what. So far she had kept her promise. Her dads always came to her for holidays, and she was so busy traveling that she wouldn't have time to go back even if she tried. It was safe to say that there was nothing that could get her to go back.

That morning as Rachel went to get the mail she was shocked. There in a tacky beige envelope sat an envelope that held the invitation to the William McKinley High School tenth year Reunion. After the shock disappeared all she could do was laugh. A deep and almost hysterical laugh. Why would they even bother sending me one she thought? She was so busy laughing that she didn't notice a car pull up.

"Are you okay?" A voice called out. Rachel turned around to see Mary Nelson, her agent of almost six years step out. Mary was a middle age woman who was mostly serious and straight to the point. Rachel was her first client, and she couldn't believe her luck when she was hired by someone with such star quality.

"Yeah, it's just I got this in the mail." Rachel was still in giggles as she handed the letter over to Mary for her to read. Mary and Rachel always understood each other so the next words came as a complete surprise.

" Rachel I think you should go."

"What? You can't be serious. I thought I made it clear when I told you I was never going back to Lima." Rachel couldn't believe Mary was actually serious. After all these years of watching her avoid Lima like the plague, how could she even suggest such a thing?

"Rachel this is a good chance to show the world that you're not letting fame get to your head. There are already rumors that you're a stuck up bitch, and a complete snob. The fact that you have no real social life doesn't help." Mary glared at Rachel as she began to deny the accusation before continuing. "Rachel it will just be a week in Lima and you'll never have to go back for all I care. We'll get some pictures of you interacting with people in the community. Show the world that you're still the humble Rachel Berry they fell in love with." Rachel knew that the rumors were starting to get out of control, but still. She has been donating to charities every year, and part of plenty organizations.

"You don't understand Mary. Those people hate me. I've never been more miserable in my life than when I was in Lima. If you love me even a little bit you won't make me go back." Mary's facial feature softened as she pulled Rachel in a hug. It looks like she was going to have to pull out the big guns, if she wanted to win this fight.

"I know how hard it was for you Rachel, but you're not the same person you were when you left. Don't you want to show everyone who ever doubted you, how great you are now? Parade around the town and show everyone exactly what the missed, when they denied you. Your Lima, Ohio's only saving grace. It's time you let them know that." Rachel pulled away a smile on her face.

" I guess that sounds fun. I mean there have been times that I wish I could see their faces when they see how successful I am."

"Great then it's agreed your heading back to Lima, Ohio."

**AN: Just something that's been stuck in my head. Not sure if I should continue. Let me know.**


	2. The Return

The Return

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee or its characters**

**Special thanks to DarlingEmory, xMeMyselfandIx, and ritagarcia45 for reviewing.**

A couple of days ago if someone had told Rachel she would be standing in the Lima airport she would've laughed. Now however she had to face the cruel reality of staying in Lima for an entire week. She had already found her bags, and was heading to the car rental desk. Her dads had offered to pick her up, but the idea of spending the week asking them for a ride whenever she needed to go somewhere was less than appealing. She walked up to the empty desk ringing the bell to get assistance. She found this the perfect time to text her fathers and Mary, letting them now she landed safely. She was so busy texting that she missed the back door was opening and someone was coming to help.

"Rachel Berry?" For a brief second as she looked up, she readied herself to sign an autograph. Something she had to do constantly whenever she went out and never really tired of. To her surprise her name wasn't being called for an autograph, but because this person actually knew her.

"Samuel is that you? How are you?" To say she was surprised to see Sam working in an airport was an understatement. She knew Lima didn't have many options in terms of careers, but still? The airport? Really?

"I'm good. Didn't expect to see you here, back for the class reunion? "Still shocked Rachel only managed to nod. So he continued a bit awkwardly," Need to rent a car?"

"Yes, I do actually." In terms of plans she wanted a car that just screamed how successful she was, one that only few people in Lima could afford. The problem, however was that she didn't expect to meet anyone she knew, until she was actually ready. If she chose one of the most expensive cars would Sam know what she was trying to do? Would he go back and tell others? As he sat down a binder for her to look through and choose a car, she absent mindedly flipped through tracing her mind for a solution. If she went too fancy, he would think she was showing off, but if she went too cheap he would assume she wasn't as wealthy as she presented herself to be. This one she said as she pointing down at a picture.

"Isn't that exactly like the Prius you had back in school?"

Forcing a smile she looked at him before saying, "Well if I'm going back to school might as well play the part." Sam excused himself for a moment bringing back paper work for her to sign. The whole ordeal was done in silence, and the silence continued as she paid. It wasn't until he was going through last minute details did the almost painful situation take a turn.

"Hey Rachel tonight the whole gang is meeting up at Mike's and Tina's. It would be cool if you came. We haven't had everyone back since you left." Rachel blinked in surprise. Maybe the whole awkward situation was only in her mind. Putting on her brightest smile she nodded." I would love to Sam. It was nice of you to invite me."

"No problem just let me write down the time and address." A few minutes later as Rachel drove away from the airport, she felt confident that being back in Lima wouldn't be so bad.

The house was empty when Rachel arrived. A quick look at the time made her realize her parents were still at work. The house after all this time looked the same. Every detail as she remembered. Even her old room looked the way she had left it. She decided to take a quick nap before she began to unpack. Two hours later she found herself making dinner for her dads. Hiram was the first on to arrive.

"Angel!" he said excitedly before pulling his only daughter into a hug. "It's so great to see you in this house again. We really missed you."

"I missed you too daddy." The rest of the time was spent catching up with each other while waiting for Leroy to arrive. After he arrived they had dinner before Rachel excused herself to get ready.

"I'm really happy that you're getting out and meeting your old friends." Leroy told her.

Of course Rachel had never told them how loose the word friends applied to the people in Glee club. Rachel knew she had to make an impression tonight. It would determine how the rest of the week went. She picked her best outfit and spent hours on her hair and makeup. On top of that she went through all the little things Kurt had told about the others in their occasional messages to each other. A quick Goodbye to her dads and she was out the door. Mike and Tina's house was a five minute drive away (when traveling in Lima almost every place tended to be just a few minutes away). Her stomach dropped when she noticed several cars already there. She looked at the clock again confirming that she was at least ten minutes early. Placing her head on the steering wheel she took a deep breath. Please don't let me be the last one to arrive she muttered. She wanted to be one of the first people to arrive. She figured she would feel less like an outsider if she was already there and chatting while the others walked in. Stepping out the car Rachel decided it was now or never. "You're Rachel Berry." she told herself, "they're the lucky ones who get to be in the presence of a star."

Standing straight she walked up to the door and rung the doorbell. She was greeted by an older looking Mike Chang than she was used to. In fact she realized everyone would look different than she remembered. Rachel he said with a smile before pulling her into a hug. It was obvious that Sam had told the others about her arrival. "Nice to see you again too Mike." she smiled back before following him into a large living room. There her fear was confirmed. She was indeed the last one to arrive. She couldn't help but notice the harsh silence as she stepped into the room. It became painfully clear that before she arrived they had been talking about her. It also became clear that her designer wear didn't fit in with the rest of the gang's casual clothing. Suddenly she felt like it was high school all over again. She was once again the loser hoping to be accepted_. "Come on",_ she thought you prepared for this. _"Show them how_ _much you changed."_ She was just about to open her mouth when the first words were spoken.

"Jeez Berry if you're going to be making all this money at least get that beak removed." Santana's voice sounded exactly how she remembered. Cold, cruel, and powerful. Age had done nothing to the Latina beauty. She looked even prettier than Rachel remembered, and still just as harsh. Not even the responsibility of a kid mellowed her down.

"Nice to see you again Santana", Rachel said forcing a smile. "Nice to see all of you again." she said smiling her brightest smile. For a second, she thought they would ignore her, and everything she had just said. Fortunately Kurt and Blaine were up and hugging her.

"Well Rachel I can at least say that you have more style than you did ten years ago". A compliment from Kurt! Things could still end up well.

"Yes, but we all know you'll forever be the king of fashion." With a sigh Mercedes was up and hugging Rachel also.

"Don't get him started. Compliments will only make his head bigger." After everyone minus Santana got a chance to hug Rachel a more comfortable silence fell over the room. Rachel took this time to notice that almost everyone was paired off. Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany, Mike and Tina, and Mercedes and Sam. She also took note of how Quinn and Finn had their hands intertwined (no surprise there). She and Artie were the odd ones out. It was then that she noticed Noah was missing. Then again she couldn't imagine Noah hanging around a group of people he never seemed to really like. Still she felt a bit sad that she wouldn't be seeing him tonight

"There's so much to catch up on, she said wanting to break the silence. I want to hear about everyone's lives." She would humor them. Let them talk about their less than mediocre lives before she unleashed her huge list of accomplishments on them.

"Hold Up. Can we cut the crap? Listen up here Berry. Just because you're back doesn't mean we're going to bow down to you. You can act like you've changed, but we all know that's crap. For all I care you left Lima a loser and you're returning to Lima a loser." Santana was always good at cutting her down.

Rachel was going to tell her she didn't give a damn what she thought. In fact she was going to stand up to Santana and show her she wasn't the same scared little girl she was back then. But for some inexplicable reason the words _"Of course"_ slipped through her mouth.

She didn't know what she was doing. How had she let Santana win? The same Santana she had been waiting to show up ever since she bought the plane ticket to Lima.

"Hold on Santana, can you calm down. Rachel hasn't done anything to you. You're letting a ten year grudge get the best of you." The last person she expected to come to her defense was Finn. Something he hardly seemed to do in high school. Maybe things changed more than she thought.

"Come off of it Finn. We all know you've been wetting your pants the moment you heard Rachel was back."

"Hey can we stop fighting Blaine cut in. We finally have Rachel back and we're not going to ruin it by fighting". Santana and Finn muttered a little truce Sending a thank you nod to Blaine she turned to Santana. Kill them with kindness she thought. "How's your s-…", her cell phone cut her off with a ring that seemed too loud in the almost quiet room . Reaching for her purse she looked at the caller ID and saw it was Mary.

"Excuse but I have to take this." There were a few nods in her direction and a scoff (Santana) as she headed out the front door.

"Mary?"

"Rachel I have important news. They want to give you a multimillion dollar deal. This movie could change everything. You can be the next biggest thing in Hollywood. I already read the script, and I know it's perfect for you. Rachel didn't know what to do for a few moments. Her brain struggling to understand what she had just been told.

"What? Really? When? I mean is this even possible?"

"The director saw your last movie and just had to have you. This could really be the Oscar winner. You can't pass it up. He wants to set an interview with us in two days. I bought you a plane ticket back to L.A. first thing in the morning."

"You want me to leave tomorrow? What about the reunion?"

"Forget about the reunion Rachel. This is you career we're talking about. I'm going to hang up and email you your travel information. Congratulations Rachel you really deserved this." Whispering a quick Good Bye she hung up. She couldn't believe this. A multimillion dollar movie deal! Mary had said the script was Oscar worthy, and that was one award she had been working for lately. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice the figure behind her.

"Leaving so soon Berry?"

**A/N: I think we all know who it is. I plan to update once a week, but I just moved to Hawaii so it may take a couple of extra days. Thanks again to the people who reviewed. I usually reply to my reviews, and will most likely do that from this point on. Thanks for reading.**


	3. This Year's Apology

**This Year's Apology**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters**

**AN: Special thanks to those who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorite list.**

Rachel knew that voice. It was the voice of the person missing from tonight's get together. Turning around she was treated to the nice view of Noah Puckerman. If possible is arms seemed even bigger more defined and stronger. Noah had gotten rid of his signature Mohawk, and now sported a nicely shaved head. She felt he self lick her lips as she continued to look at Noah. The years had been great to him. He looked just as handsome as he did in high school, yet a little older.

"Like what you see?" He asked. She was immediately broken out of her thoughts. She felt her face heat up, but tried to ignore it.

"I see you're still quite the ladies man", she said. He laughed then looked into her eyes.

"You know it babe. Didn't know you were leaving so soon. You just got here. What's a matter Berry to busy for us folks down in Lima?" And just like that the moment was gone. Back it seemed was the Puck that often antagonized her in school.

"If you must know Noah, I've been offered the movie deal of my career, and I wouldn't waste it on a school reunion full of people who hate me."

Well the only reason people hate you is because you act to good to come down here every once in a while. "

"That's because I am Noah. I'm better than this place. I always have been. You don't let your life waste away in a town no one appreciates you in when you have my talent. I know it sounds harsh, but I'm sure of my talent and I'm sure about Lima." She didn't mean to rant, but something about him always got her riled up. She waited a few seconds for his angry reply, but got laughter instead. Not just light laughter either. Huge, hysterical, laughter.

"Well I'm glad you find me so funny, but if you excuse me Noah I need to inform everyone I'm leaving." She made her way to the door, but his hand closed around her arm and he pulled her back into place. "I'm sorry Berry, it's just that you sound exactly the same. Going on about how talented you are." She felt herself get angry. How dare he laugh in her face then expect her to forget about it. "But look. I'm glad your back. I kinda missed hearing your loud mouth. I'm not going to judge you if you need to leave. It's just that I thought you were coming to fix things not just be here when it was convenient for you. "And what things do I need to fix?" she replied coldly. If the people in this town thought she came for forgiveness then they had another thing coming.

"Come on Rachel. You left without much of a goodbye. Never came back until now, and cried to every magazine how bad we tortured you in school. You made Lima seem like some terrible place where only loser live. You went off acting like you were too good for this place or something. Did you think they wouldn't be upset?" Yanking her arm away from him, she sent him a glare she hoped would scare him.

"Oh so it was my fault I told the truth? People treated me like dirt here and _I_ was tortured in school. Why would I come back to this place when everyone made it clear they didn't want me? I tried reaching out to everyone and they ignored my effort. I'm not going to apologize for making something of myself."

"So why are you back now?" he said. "If you hate this place so much why come back now?" Suddenly she felt trapped. She couldn't tell him the real reason. She couldn't tell him that her agent told her to, or that she wanted to rub everything in their faces. At seeing her hesitate Noah eyes suddenly held amusement.

"You did come back so we would forgive you. Admit it. You felt lonely out there with all your fake actor friends, and came back here to make up with everyone." The look on his face was so smug, and she wanted nothing more than to smack it off. Still he just supplied her with the excuse she was searching for. _Time to put these acting skills to work_, she thought." Okay", she said. "You caught me, the thrills of being a highly sought after actress in Hollywood has faded away. I thought coming back here and being with everyone again would make me feel better."

"That's all you had to say Berry. If you want my forgiveness, you can just come over to my place and crawl into my bed."

Same old Noah!

"While your offer sounds lovely, I have some packing to do. I'll be leaving in the morning." The disappointed look on his face was almost enough to make her change her mind. Can you tell everyone I'm sorry but some business came up?" She would've done it herself, but she all she could imagine was Santana's harsh words to her earlier. This wouldn't make things better. Rachel Berry knew when to quit, and this was that time.

"Come on Berry, stay. You've spent ten years away and you just can't leave. Hollywood can wait, but Lima can't." She would not throw her career away just to rebuild bridges that had already burned.

"It was nice seeing you again Noah." With that she turned and walked to her car. She didn't understand how everything had gone so wrong in just one day. Her plan had backfired. No one was impressed by her, and it seemed that anytime she was in a room with the former glee club, she failed to defend herself. It was like she was the same Rachel Berry she had left behind, and she refused to let that happen again. She wasn't going to let herself be laughed at again. And the nerve of everyone! Wanting her to apologize. If what Noah had said was true, then she wasn't imagining the tension earlier. The old glee club really did hold bad feelings towards her, and there was nothing she was going to do to fix them. It wasn't fair that she had to do the apologizing. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had just done what she had been telling them for years she was going to do. Not Finn, or Kurt, or anybody else was going to stand in her way.

A decision she had made ten years ago kept them all trapped in the same place they had been in high school. Sure in some ways they had moved on. New or stronger relationships, children, and careers had been added to the mix, but the same ill feelings they held for her in school were still there. As soon as she got home she explained the situation to her dads. They were proud of her and supported her decision to leave and accept the movie deal. Of course they were a bit upset, but it was something they would get over.

She spent her night repacking and getting ready for her early flight. By the time morning rolled in she had said good bye to her parents and was headed back to the Lima airport. Still she couldn't shake the feeling that she was making a bad choice. She had come to Lima with a goal and just like that she was giving it up. It wasn't until she was at the airport that she pulled her phone out.

"Mary, tell them to reschedule the meeting. Tell them I'm attending a school reunion; after that give the paparazzi an anonymous tip saying that I'm in Lima. I didn't step back into Lima for nothing." Mary didn't even argue with her much to Rachel's surprise.

"You're right. Not only will the producer admire you for your commitment, but with the picture surfacing of your hometown return, we can fight the rumors off. "

Lima, looks like Rachel Berry is staying.

AN: One of my reviewers brought to my attention that Rachel seems a bit mean. She's being unintentionally mean. She's Rachel Berry and she's always had an ego, and now she has fame to back up her ego. Don't worry she'll get better. In the next chapter Rachel will change her game plan, now that she's staying in Lima.


	4. Old Habits Die Hard

**Old Habits Die Hard**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or it's characters.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites**

Now that Rachel was staying she had to re-evaluate her plan. Thanks to Noah she now knew what her former glee club waned. Unfortunately for them apologizing was something she refused to do. That didn't mean she couldn't let them think that. In fact she planned to do anything to make them think an apology was right around the corner. By the time they figured out that she wasn't there to gain their friendship back she would be long gone.

The plan was simple. Make them all think she was there to be their friend again, and make them believe she had the sincerest of intentions. At the reunion she would request to make a speech about her wonderful "friends" and she would take the mic and stare down at them with a smile on her face. Then she would proceed to tell them exactly what she thinks of them, tell them to stick it, and walk out the building laughing at the look that would be on their faces. This time she would leave Lima as the girl who stood up for herself, and not just a loser. Of course she was planning on excluding some people from this plan. Mainly she wanted to call Santana, Quinn, and Finn. Of course Mercedes wasn't the nicest person to her either, and Brittany wasn't exactly Miss Innocent either. The only problem was that she wasn't sure how to get them to really talk to her without her leading with an apology. She needed a way into the group, and she knew the one person who could help her. That was why in a hour she would be meeting Noah at Breadsticks. She felt awful about using him this way, especially since he was willing to welcome her back with no hard feelings, but she came here with a goal. A goal that she put before a movie deal!

To say she knew that carrying out the plan held a risk was an understatement. At best she would earn everyone's respect (except of course the people she was planning to destroy), and walk away with a life changing movie deal. At worst not only would the plan fail and everyone would hate her even more, but she would also lose the deal to someone more available than she was at the moment. Any sane person would snatch up the movie deal and run. Too bad she was Rachel Berry, who had too much pride to ever leave with everyone thinking she was the same girl they knew ten years ago. Part of her knew she was acting the exact way old Rachel Berry acted. The Rachel Berry who had no friends, and only cared about herself, and her future. The other part told her she needed this closure. She needed everyone to realize their put downs only made her better.

Looking at the clock she realized she had fifteen minutes before she had to leave. The time she spent on her outfit was almost embarrassing. For a moment she felt like a high school girl trying on ever outfit to find the perfect one for her date. Of course she wasn't a high school girl and this wasn't a date. Funny enough in her high school days she was one of the few girls that didn't accompany Noah to Breadsticks. Instead most of their brief dating period consisted of making out and working on their mash up. There were times she wished she had taken their relationship more seriously. She had gone into the relationship using him as a replacement for Finn. She had spent most her time in high school on Finn and wish she didn't. All the things she could've done with that time instead of putting time into a relationship that was doomed. Of course she didn't regret Finn, and he would always be her first love, but that didn't mean she couldn't wish she had done things differently. Looking over herself once more, she realized she needed to get going. To her surprise Noah was there before her. As he waved her over to the table, she spent the short walk looking around. Like everyplace else in this town it looked the same as it had when she left.

"Hello Noah."

"Nice dress Berry". Rolling her eyes she sat down. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a nice t shirt that was a bit snug. Not that she was complaining because the shirt clung to his nice body giving her a great view.

"Thank you for taking time to meet, Noah as I'm sure you probably had things to do, and it means a lot to me that you are willing to help me."

"Still using more words than you need too I see. She felt her face heat up. Naw it's cool I didn't have plans tonight. Anyway still all that vegan crap?"

"It's not crap Noah, and being vegan provides a healthy and wholesome lifestyle."

"Well to me its crap and I need meat to live." There was no point with arguing with him. Neither mind would be changed. She could recall the number of times they had this same conversation.

"About that dress do I get to see you out of it later?"

"Same Noah Puckerman I see."

"That doesn't answer the question Berry?" She wanted to both slap and kiss the smirk off his face. Something about his crass bad boy nature had always turned her on, and it was clear that their time apart hadn't made a difference. However she couldn't fall for this now. Now that she would be leaving in a few days, and the fact that she was using him for her own benefits. Ignoring his previous statement she decided to turn this conversation in the right direction.

"So how have you been doing? What's your life like now"? He gave a lazy shrug before answering,

"I still work at Burt's car shop with Finn. I own half of it since Finn took over after Burt's retirement. I'm still single"; he said giving her a wink," nothing as exciting as you've been through."

"So I've been thinking about what you said and I want to get to know everyone again. It was wrong for me to run off and not look back and I was hoping you could help me earn everyone's forgiveness." She needed to start as soon as possible.

"So can I get you anything to drink"? Rachel looked away from Noah to see a waitress. One that looked very familiar. A quick look at her name tag told Rachel exactly who she was. Misty Roth former Cheerio and someone who helped make her life hell back in freshman year_." Oh how they mighty have fallen"_ she though. It put a smile on her face to see someone who caused her so many problems was now working as a waitress, serving _her. _

"You're Rachel Berry. Remember we went to school together."

"Um"? Rachel questioned. She wouldn't give Misty the satisfaction of letting her know she knew exactly who she was. Misty, we had Spanish class together. Frowning a bit Rachel shook her head." I'm sorry I just don't remember you".

"Oh", Misty said her face falling. "Well it's been some years so it's completely understandable." Giving her a smile Rachel told her she wanted water while Noah ordered beer. With the promise of being back soon Misty walked away.

"If you want everyone to welcome you back you can't do things like that".

"Pardon me?" She asked confused.

"You knew exactly who she was, but you're acting that way to get back at her. You left Lima acting like you were better than everyone and you returned acting better than everyone. Not that I'm complaining, if anyone deserved to make it outside of Lima it's you, but that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way." It was at the moment Rachel realized how much he changed. Back in school he wouldn't have gone out of his way to help someone with their problem without there being any benefits for him. Not that she was known for her selfless acts either, but still. He was being so sincere in the way he was trying to help her that she felt even worse.

"So how should I act? I don't want to act pathetic like I use to. I'm a different person now."

"You seem like the same old Berry to me, just calmer. I'm not asking you to change who you are, I'm just asking you to mean it. If you're doing this just to make yourself better than you're better just leaving things the way they are." He told her what she needed to do; the only problem was how to mean something you didn't really mean?

**AN: It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry I've been house hunting for the last few weeks. Anyway I hope you liked this chapter. I'm going to ask that a few more people review even if it's just two or three words. Also if you're on tumblr come find me I need to follow more people ( you have to copy and paste because ff won't let us link anymore): .com/**

**Til next time.**


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